Pho 101 is a Vietnamese restaurant on East Hastings in Burnaby. The restaurant is located just at the bottom of the hill by SFU, so it is a popular place for students. I’ve been here a few times over the last year and have had consistently satisfying experiences. They sell pho, rice and noodle dishes, and banh mi.

On my latest visit, I ordered the large rare steak and beef ball pho ($7.50).

The beef wasn’t actually rare, since it came out already sitting in the broth, but despite this, the slices were still tender and not chewy. Compared to some of the other beef balls I’ve had, I didn’t care for these ones. They had a bit of a gritty texture that I found unpleasant.

I like the broth here because it isn’t loaded up with MSG and it has a delicate beef flavour. They put plenty of white and green onions and cilantro in the broth as well.

While I wasn’t impressed with the beef balls and I would skip them next time, I still enjoyed my bowl of pho. Pho 101 continues to be the place I go if I’m craving pho and looking for a cheap meal in the North Burnaby area.